The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.164

v4.c23.s4.164

One of the few large buildings of Aurangzīb's reign, but one which fully illustrates the change that was then taking place, is far removed, however, from the majority of the Mughul monuments, as it is in the Deccan. Near the town of Aurangābād, now in the Nizām's dominions, this emperor caused to be erected in 1679 by "‘Atā-ullah, Chief Architect", the mausoleum of his wife Rābi‘a-ud-Daurānī. A frank copy of the Tāj Mahall, although approximately only half its size, it shows in the thirty years that intervened the extent to which taste had deteriorated and the style become impoverished. With inadequate knowledge the architect had evidently endeavoured to improve on the proportions of the Tāj, and also to enrich it with considerable superfluous ornament. The result, as would be expected, is a very mediocre production, the relation of height to width being unpleasing, leading to a loss of dignity and a congestion of the structures around the base of the dome. Almost every arch is demeaned with miniature cusps, the cornices garnished by insipid mouldings, and the surfaces are aggravated by spiritless arabesques. Those outstanding qualities of simplicity and breadth which make the Tāj so profound and satisfying have been disregarded, and meaningless efforts at embellishment have been applied all over the building. But although the structure as a whole shows such marked evidences of debasement, the same cannot be said of some of the applied art with which it is decorated. The fine quality of some of the accessories proves that good craftsmen were still available. The octagonal screen of white marble enclosing the sarcophagus is carved in a perforated pattern equal in workmanship to that of the previous reign, while some of the designs in bas relief are exquisitely modelled. But the finest ornament is in metal, some of the doors being of beaten brass with bold floral panels and borders hammered and chiselled in masterly fashion. The hand of the craftsman was still effective, it was the spirit of the art that had declined.